Ski jumping is a form of Nordic skiing in which athletes descend a specially constructed takeoff ramp (known as the inrun), jump from the end of it (the table) with as much power as they can generate, and "fly" as far as possible down a steeply sloped hill.[1] Points are awarded for distance and style by five judges, with competition sanctioned by the International Ski Federation (FIS). To enable the athletes (who are known as ski jumpers) to effectively glide such long distances and land safely, the skis they use are considerably wider and longer than their cross-country and alpine skiing counterparts. Ski jumping is predominantly a winter sport and has been part of the Winter Olympic Games since its inception in 1924,[2] but it can also be performed in the summer on artificial surfaces made from plastic. Along with cross-country skiing, ski jumping is one of two sports which form the Nordic combined discipline.

Eidsberg church in Norway, the site of the first ever known ski jump—a distance of of 9.5 metres—set by lieutenant Olaf Rye in 1808

The recorded origins of ski jumping can be traced directly to November 1808, in which Danish-Norwegian lieutenant Olaf Rye launched himself 9.5 metres in the air as a show of courage to his fellow soldiers at Eidsberg church in Eidsberg, Norway.[3] By 1862, ski jumpers were facing much larger jumps and traveling longer. The very first recorded public competition was held at Trysil, Norway, on 22 January 1862. At this first competition, judges already awarded points for style ("elegance and smoothness"), participants had to complete three jumps without falling and rules were agreed upon in advance.[4] It is clear from the news report published in Morgenbladet that the ski jumping in Trysild was entertainment, but also a national, competitive sports event. The first known female ski jumper participated at the Trysil competition in 1863.[5] Norway's Sondre Norheim jumped 30 meters without the benefit of poles.[3] In 1866, the first skiing event held in Christiania near Old Aker Church was a combined cross-country, slalom and jumping competition, and attracted an audience of some 2,000 people. Sondre Norheim won his first competition in Christiania in 1868.[5] The first widely known ski jumping competition was the Husebyrennene, held in Oslo in 1879, with Olaf Haugann of Norway setting the first world record for the longest ski jump at 20 meters.[6] Explorer Fridtjof Nansen was a skilled skier and was number 7 in the 1881 competition at Huseby.[5] Until 1884–1886 jumping and cross-country was a single integrated competition: In 1886 at Huseby cross-country and jumping were held on separate days, and final results were calculated from the combined achievements (similar to present nordic combined).[5] The annual event was moved to Holmenkollen from 1892, and Holmenkollen has remained the pinnacle of ski jumping venues. To distinguish ski jumping competition only from Nordic combined, it is still referred to as "spesielt hopprenn" in Norwegian (ski jumping only).

In 1929, Norwegian instructors arrived in Sapporo to train the Japanese in ski jumping.[4]

The Large Hill competition was included on the Olympic programme for the 1964 Olympic Games in Innsbruck.

Normal hill: the calculation line is set at approximately 80–100 metres (260–330 ft). Distances over 110 metres (360 ft) can be reached.

Large hill: the calculation line is set at approximately 120–130 metres (390–430 ft). Distances of over 150 metres (490 ft) can be reached, with this being the most commonly contested hill type on the World Cup calendar.

Ski flying hill: the calculation line is set at 185–200 metres (607–656 ft). Extremely long distances of over 240 metres (790 ft) can be reached, and it is on these hills where world records are set.

Amateur and junior level competitions are held on hills which are smaller than 80 m. The second level of senior competition, below the World Cup, is the FIS Ski Jumping Continental Cup. In addition to individual competitions on all three hill types, a lesser number of team competitions take place as part of the World Cup. In team events, four ski jumpers are chosen to represent their country. One member of each team participates in an opening round, until all teams have completed their jumps. The lowest-scoring teams (usually two or three) are then eliminated, after which a second round decides the winning team and subsequent order based on accumulated points.

Ski jumping can also be performed in the summer on an inrun where the tracks are made from porcelain and the grass on the slope is coated with plastic, combined with water. However, not all hills are equipped with these facilities. There are also many competitions during the summer, including the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix.

Mixed jumping at the FIS Grand Prix Ski Jumping event and first ever on plastic was held in Courchevel, France. Competition was held on normal La Praz olympic HS96 hill. The first full four member Mixed Team and first ever Grand Prix mixed team winner in history was team of Japan.

The first FIS World Cup Mixed Team event took place in Lillehammer, Norway. Competition was held on normal Lysgårdsbakken olympic HS100 hill. Each national mixed team consisted of four ski jumpers, two men and two women. The first World Cup mixed team winner was team of Norway.

Ski jumpers below the minimum safe body mass index are penalized with a shorter maximum ski length, reducing the aerodynamic lift they can achieve. These rules have been credited with stopping the most severe cases of underweight athletes, but some competitors still lose weight to maximize the distance they can jump.[32]

The winner is decided on a scoring system based on distance, style, inrun length and wind conditions.

Aerodynamics has become a factor of increasing importance in modern ski jumping, with recent rules addressing the regulation of ski jumping suits. This follows a period when loopholes in the rules seemed to favour skinny jumpers in stiff, air foil-like suits.

Each hill has a target called the calculation point (or K point or "critical point") which is a par distance to aim for. It is also the place where many jumpers land, in the middle of the landing area. This point is marked by the K line on the landing strip. For K-90 and K-120 competitions, the K line is at 90 metres (300 ft) and 120 metres (390 ft) respectively. Skiers are awarded 60 points if they land on the K Line. Skiers earn extra points for flying beyond the K Line, or lose points for every meter(~3 ft) they land short of the mark. The typical meter value is 2 points in small hills, 1.8 points in large hills and 1.2 points in ski-flying hills. Thus, it is possible for a jumper to get a negative score if the jump is way short of the K line with poor style marks (typically a fall hill where the slope begins to flatten as measured from the take off.

In addition, five judges are based in a tower to the side of the expected landing point. They can award up to 20 points each for style based on keeping the skis steady during flight, balance, good body position, and landing. The highest and lowest style scores are disregarded, with the remaining three scores added to the distance score. Thus, a perfectly scored K-120 jump – with at least four of the judges awarding 20 points each – and the jumper landing on the K-point, is awarded a total of 120 points.

In January 2010, a new scoring factor was introduced to compensate for variable outdoor conditions. Aerodynamics and take-off speed are important variables that determine the value of a jump, and if weather conditions change during a competition, the conditions will not be equal for everyone, which is unfair. The jumper will now receive or lose points if the inrun (or start gate) length is adjusted to provide optimal takeoff speed. An advanced calculation also determines plus/minus points for the actual wind conditions at the time of the jump. These points are added or withdrawn from the original scores from the jump itself.

In the individual event, the scores from each skier's two competition jumps are combined to determine the winner.

The ski jump is divided into four parts: in-run, take-off (jump), flight and landing. In each part the athlete is required to pay attention to and practice a particular technique in order to maximize the outcome of ultimate length and style marks.

Using the V-style, popularised in late 1980s by Jan Boklöv from Sweden and Jiří Malec from Czechoslovakia, skiers are able to exceed the distance of the take-off hill by about 10% compared to the previous technique with parallel skis. Previous techniques first included the Kongsberger technique, the Däescher technique and the Windisch technique.[33] Until the mid-1970s, the ski jumper came down the in-run of the hill with both arms pointing forwards. This changed when the former East German Ski jumper Jochen Danneberg introduced the new in-run technique of directing the arms backwards in a more aerodynamic position.

The landing requires the skiers to touch the ground in the Telemark landing style. This involves the jumper landing with one foot in front of the other, mimicking the style of the Norwegian inventors of Telemark skiing. Failure to comply with this regulation leads to the deduction of style marks (points).

Those who have managed to show a perfect jump, which means that all five judges attributed the maximum style score of 20 points for their jumps. So far only 7 jumpers are recorded to have achieved this:

Sven Hannawald and Wolfgang Loitzl were attributed four times 20 (plus another 19,5) style score points for their second jump, thus receiving nine times the maximum score of 20 points within one competition.